Play Creators Awards 2024 finalists revealed

Mojo Nation has detailed the finalists for this year’s Play Creators Awards.

The Play Creators Awards celebrates designers and inventors in the toy and game community that have excelled over the last 12 months.

This year’s Play Creators Awards will take place on Tuesday, June 25th at London’s Under the Bridge venue within Stamford Bridge Stadium.

As nominated by their peers, the finalists are:

Toy Designer of the Year – Sponsored by Jazwares

• Charlie Bason (Buzz Ideas) & Fuse  |  Revibe Beadworks Studio (PlayMonster)
• CONNETIX Design Team  |  CONNETIX 50 Piece Pastel Transport Pack (CONNETIX)
• Eilat Tzin, Gigi Shachal, Katia Li-Ran & Make It Real Advanced Design Team  |  LinXo (Make It Real)
• Emma Costa Lascelles (TOMY) & Rad Stuff  |  Stakimos (TOMY)
• Fun-Damental Invention & ToyZone  |  Biggies (Eolo Toys)
• Lucas Tyler (Fuse)  |  Monster Jam Launch N Go Hauler (Spin Master)
• Making Things Studio & Phase Two  |  Playtab (Fat Brain Toys)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Magic Mixies Pixlings (Moose Toys)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Cookeez Makery Freezy Cakez (Moose Toys)

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Game Designer of the Year (Kids/Family Games) – Sponsored by ThinkFun

• Bang Zoom  |  Pickleball Blast (Moose Toys)
• Dan Klitsner & Brian Clemens (KID Group)  |  Sling It
• David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  Fainting Goats (Ambassador Games)
• Eric Lang & Ken Gruhl  |  Life in Reterra (Hasbro)
• The Fantastic Factory & TOMY Games Team  |  5 Up (TOMY)
• Sara Farber & Bryan Wilson (Galactic Sneeze)  |  Floats McGoats (Hootenanny Games)
• Raf Peeters (SMART Toys and Games)  |  Cats and Boxes (SMART Toys and Games)
• KidKenn  |  VolleyShot (Fat Brain Toys)
• Seven Towns  |  Fart Yoga (Golden Bear)

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Game Designer of the Year (Party Games) – Sponsored by Playtime PR

• Austyn Romero (Ridley’s Games)  |  Pickles (Ridley’s Games)
• David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  Battleship Royale (Hasbro)
• Emily Brinkley, Marty Pardoe & Rob Piesse (Lucky Egg)  |  Grab the Mic (Lucky Egg)
• Fun-Damental Invention  |  Tilt N’ Shout (Big Potato)
• Sara Farber & Bryan Wilson (Galactic Sneeze)  |  Fork Milk Kidnap (Hasbro)
• Hunch Studios  |  Decodables (Spin Master)
• Matt Edmondson (Format Games)  |  13 Beavers (Format Games)
• Tantrum Innovation & BRIK  |  Pictionary Vs. AI (Mattel)
• Vincent Burger  |  CDSK (Randolph)

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Debut of the Year – Sponsored by YuMe Toys

• Brad Owen & Fat Brain Toys R&D Team  |  Air Toobz (Fat Brain Toys)
• Cara Weiss  |  Meet MahJong (ThinkFun)
• Chris Priscott  |  Moving Wild (Oink Games)
• Christopher Endozo Chafee (ThinkFun)  |  Math Path Monster (ThinkFun)
• Fumiko Shimizu  |  Dying Message (Oink Games)
• Jason Hibbert  |  Sosig (Joking Hazard)
• Marcus Carleson  |  Hitster (Jumbo)
• Paula Pitiot (ToyZone)  |  Jiggly Bugs (Eolo Toys)
• Romain Froger & Didier Lenain-Bragard  |  Qawale (Gigamic)

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R&D Team of the Year

• Fat Brain Toys
• Golden Bear
• Hasbro’s Furby R&D Team
• Identity Games
• Lucky Egg
• Make It Real
• Moose Toys
• TOMY
• tms Product & Engineering Development Teams
• Wow! Stuff Innovation Team

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Inventor Relations Exec of the Year

• Angus Walker  |  Hasbro
• Audrey Watanabe  |  Mattel
• Chris Lutchen & James Wing  |  TOMY
• David Laskowski  |  Hasbro
• Dominique Roy  |  Make It Real
• Floor Doggenaar  |  Jumbo
• Heath Saber  |  Moose Toys
• John Bell  |  Buffalo Games
• Shannon Swindle  |  Moose Toys
• Tony Serebriany  |  The Op

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Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year – Sponsored by Hasbro

• Design Edge
• Designbytouch
• Fun-Damental Invention
• Fuse
• Incredible Us
• Seven Towns
• So Sound
• Streamline Design
• Tantrum Innovation
• ToyZone
• Triclops Studio

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Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed/IP-Driven Product) – Sponsored by The Wyld Bunch

• Dominic Yard (This is YARD)  |  WWE Wrekkin’ Boneyard Slamcycle (Mattel)
• Fuse & Moose Toys Design Team  |  Bluey 3-in-1 Transforming Airplane Playset (Moose Toys)
• Greg Fisher & Sam Smith (Hasbro)  |  Spidey & His Amazing Friends Web Spinners Webquarters (Hasbro)
• Gurdeep Bains (YuMe Toys)  |  Netflix Countdown Giftbox (YuMe Toys)
• Jo Gough  |  Numberblocks Clip & Learn Number Fun (Trends UK)
• Josh Wilde & Tim Rowe (Fuse)  |  Jurassic World Mission Mayhem Truck Set (Mattel)
• Matt Jordan (TOMY)  |  Jixels Remix: Sonic the Hedgehog (TOMY)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Minions Ultimate Fart Blaster (Moose Toys)
• Wow! Stuff R&D Team  |  Real FX Stitch (Wow! Stuff)

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Game Designer of the Year (Licensed/IP-Driven Product) – Sponsored by Wynne-Jones IP

• Becky Shank & Craig Hendrickson (University Games)  |  Dog Man: 20,000 Fleas Under the Sea (University Games)
• Bluematter Games & David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  AdventureX: Jurassic World (PlayMonster)
• Brady Lang (Moose Toys)  |  Bluey Keepy Uppy (Moose Toys)
• Daniel Schaefer, Jeremy Zwirn, Jim Cartwright & Tyler Parrott (Fantasy Flight Games)  |  Star Wars: Unlimited (Fantasy Flight Games)
• JM Duparc & Identity Games Team  |  The Traitors (Identity Games)
• Lauren Wallace (Ridley’s Games)  |  Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Dance-Off (Ridley’s Games)
• Mirko Marchesi  |  Quoridor PAC-MAN (Gigamic)
• Rowena Isotta-Day (Orchard Toys)  |  Peter Rabbit Fish and Count (Orchard Toys)
• Ryan Miller & Steve Warner (Ravensburger)  |  Disney Lorcana (Ravensburger)

——

Play Innovator of the Year – Sponsored by ToyZone

• Bluematter Games  |  Medical Mysteries (Identity Games)
• Dan Klitsner (KID Group)  |  Bop It Button
• Furby Development Team  |  Furby (Hasbro)
• IDEO & Allie Jennings (Hasbro)  |  Twister Air (Hasbro)
• Make It Real Design Team  |  Stamp to Reveal (Make It Real)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Beast Lab (Moose Toys)
• Peter Wachtel  |  Batter Batter Fetch (Jazwares)
• So Sound & Wilder Toys  |  Snake Attack (Wilder Toys)
• Spin Master Bitzee Team  |  Bitzee (Spin Master)

——

Unsung Hero – Sponsored by Ravensburger’s Disney Lorcana TCG

• Chloe McCourt  |  GW Development
• Emily Brinkley  |  Lucky Egg
• Harriet Steeds  |  Ridley’s Games
• Jim Wyatt  |  Wow! Stuff
• Jodie Broaders  |  Fuse London
• Josh Addyman  |  Seven Towns
• Oliver Chang  |  YuMe Toys
• Rich Walton  |  Format Games
• Richard Herman  |  The Happy Puzzle Company
• Sam Costidell  |  tms

——

Rising Star – Sponsored by Ridley’s Games

• Abbi Udell  |  Moose Toys
• Brooke Cherry  |  Fuse
• Chijioge “Chi” Nwogu  |  GameFlo
• Danielle Reynolds  |  Wacky Wizard Games
• Eilat Tzin, Gigi Shachal & Katia Li-Ran
• Katie Holt  |  Camden Games
• Laura Estrada  |  ToyZone
• Olivia DeLuca  |  TOMY
• Ross Monks  |  Moose Toys
• Samuel Price  |  tms

——

Icon Award – sponsored by Moose Toys
The winner of this award will be announced on the night.

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Winners will be revealed at the live Play Creators Awards on Tuesday, June 25th at Under the Bridge within London’s Stamford Bridge Stadium.

To book your ticket to this year’s Play Creators Awards, click here.

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